In Term 2, 2014, we guided our students through a project based learning unit on waste management. We asked the students to investigate our school’s waste management system, collect data, investigate other waste management systems and propose a new system for the school to implement. During the process we aimed to meet the 8 essentials of project based learning (Larmer & Mergendoller, 2010).
The 8 essentials of project based learning are; significant content, a need to know, a driving question, student voice and choice, 21st century competencies, in-depth inquiry, critique and revision, and a public audience.
Significant Content
In planning the question we consulted the Australian Curriculum and identified some Science and Geography content descriptors that linked to the topic. There are also links to the General Capabilities of; Literacy, Numeracy, ICT, Critical and Creative Thinking, Personal and Social Capability, and Ethical Understanding. But more importantly, we believed that this was an important topic for the students to learn as it affects their school community.
A Need to Know
Our need to know began with a walk around the school and identifying what we saw. The students discovered that there was litter around, this lead to a talk about how many bins were located in what parts of the school. We watched a video that showed places where waste had already started to affect the lives of people and animals. The term ‘waste management system’ was introduced, and students wanted to know what that meant and what our system involved.
A Driving Question
The discussion lead to the driving question; what is our school’s waste management system and how can we improve it? It was clear to our students that they had to research our system and then propose changes based on information they had researched. The one limitation of the question was that it possibly could have been a little simpler. The term waste management system is abstract and our English Second Language students had trouble articulating what the term actually meant. It still had the desired outcomes though.
Student Voice and Choice
Students were split into groups and given a task sheet that contained the driving question, the context, the task and some essential vocabulary. The students had the choice of how they could present the task. The final product resulted in an array of styles of presentations. Presentations included presentations (PowerPoint, Prezi and Google Drive), a skit that included a mascot, speeches and models.
21st Century Competencies
Working in groups the students were required to collaborate with peers in order to reach the end goal of presenting their new waste management system for the school. The project provided the opportunity to think critically about a problem and create and innovate. The final presentation required the students to communicate by presenting their concept to an audience. Throughout the course of the term, the students regularly reflected on their learning by filling out a questionnaire on Google Drive.
In-depth Inquiry
After the driving question had been introduced, the students were assisted in collecting data on the amount of waste that was being sent to landfill each day. They collected, weighed and recorded their information. This posed questions for the students and new avenues for them to explore.
To aid with their discovery we organised an interview with Megan Anderson, a waste management and sustainability specialist from Wake Forrest University, North Carolina, USA. The students developed their own questions and asked them via Skype. This gave the students a great grounding in knowledge and to supplement it we curated a list of resources both in the classroom and on our class Weebly. The students looked far and wide for their ideas and then begun to work on their plan, there was a lot of trial and error as well as dialogue to get to their final products. We used the example of the Iphone, the fact that Apple are on to the Iphone 5 and IOS 8 shows that they didn’t get it perfect the first time and keep making improvements.
Critique and Revision
During the process students met with their teachers on a regular basis to discuss their progress and review their plans. These conferences allowed the teacher to provide feedback to the groups and identify any areas that needed to be taught. A culture of a constant process of improvement is developing on the back of this practice. Students are developing a growth mindset. In the future the rubric or criteria could be used to improve this process.To conclude the students were asked to reflect on their project by writing a report using Google Drive and then sharing it with their teacher.
Public Audience
Students presented their projects twice, to their peers and teacher and then to the school’s administration team and their parents at the class’s Celebration of Learning. At the Celebration of Learning students communicated their ideas with parents and staff as well as answering questions about how the came to conclusions, why they chose to include certain aspects and how they would implement it. When speaking with some afterwards who are on the Parents and Friends committee they were impressed and were talking about how the Parents and Friends could assist financially in the implementation of a new waste management system (a few of the groups had costed their plans).
This project was both meaningful to the students and fulfilled an educational purpose. It was also relevant to the students and inspired them to look at their surrounds and take action to preserve it. The learning task was authentic, as shown by the parents desire to take the ideas proposed by the students to the Parents and Friends committee to fund the implementation of a new waste management system for the school. Upon reflection there is few things we would adjust if we conducted the same project again. That may not be possible in this school setting again, our students have solved all the problems and we may have an awesome waste management system very soon. J
Nathan
The 8 essentials of project based learning are; significant content, a need to know, a driving question, student voice and choice, 21st century competencies, in-depth inquiry, critique and revision, and a public audience.
Significant Content
In planning the question we consulted the Australian Curriculum and identified some Science and Geography content descriptors that linked to the topic. There are also links to the General Capabilities of; Literacy, Numeracy, ICT, Critical and Creative Thinking, Personal and Social Capability, and Ethical Understanding. But more importantly, we believed that this was an important topic for the students to learn as it affects their school community.
A Need to Know
Our need to know began with a walk around the school and identifying what we saw. The students discovered that there was litter around, this lead to a talk about how many bins were located in what parts of the school. We watched a video that showed places where waste had already started to affect the lives of people and animals. The term ‘waste management system’ was introduced, and students wanted to know what that meant and what our system involved.
A Driving Question
The discussion lead to the driving question; what is our school’s waste management system and how can we improve it? It was clear to our students that they had to research our system and then propose changes based on information they had researched. The one limitation of the question was that it possibly could have been a little simpler. The term waste management system is abstract and our English Second Language students had trouble articulating what the term actually meant. It still had the desired outcomes though.
Student Voice and Choice
Students were split into groups and given a task sheet that contained the driving question, the context, the task and some essential vocabulary. The students had the choice of how they could present the task. The final product resulted in an array of styles of presentations. Presentations included presentations (PowerPoint, Prezi and Google Drive), a skit that included a mascot, speeches and models.
21st Century Competencies
Working in groups the students were required to collaborate with peers in order to reach the end goal of presenting their new waste management system for the school. The project provided the opportunity to think critically about a problem and create and innovate. The final presentation required the students to communicate by presenting their concept to an audience. Throughout the course of the term, the students regularly reflected on their learning by filling out a questionnaire on Google Drive.
In-depth Inquiry
After the driving question had been introduced, the students were assisted in collecting data on the amount of waste that was being sent to landfill each day. They collected, weighed and recorded their information. This posed questions for the students and new avenues for them to explore.
To aid with their discovery we organised an interview with Megan Anderson, a waste management and sustainability specialist from Wake Forrest University, North Carolina, USA. The students developed their own questions and asked them via Skype. This gave the students a great grounding in knowledge and to supplement it we curated a list of resources both in the classroom and on our class Weebly. The students looked far and wide for their ideas and then begun to work on their plan, there was a lot of trial and error as well as dialogue to get to their final products. We used the example of the Iphone, the fact that Apple are on to the Iphone 5 and IOS 8 shows that they didn’t get it perfect the first time and keep making improvements.
Critique and Revision
During the process students met with their teachers on a regular basis to discuss their progress and review their plans. These conferences allowed the teacher to provide feedback to the groups and identify any areas that needed to be taught. A culture of a constant process of improvement is developing on the back of this practice. Students are developing a growth mindset. In the future the rubric or criteria could be used to improve this process.To conclude the students were asked to reflect on their project by writing a report using Google Drive and then sharing it with their teacher.
Public Audience
Students presented their projects twice, to their peers and teacher and then to the school’s administration team and their parents at the class’s Celebration of Learning. At the Celebration of Learning students communicated their ideas with parents and staff as well as answering questions about how the came to conclusions, why they chose to include certain aspects and how they would implement it. When speaking with some afterwards who are on the Parents and Friends committee they were impressed and were talking about how the Parents and Friends could assist financially in the implementation of a new waste management system (a few of the groups had costed their plans).
This project was both meaningful to the students and fulfilled an educational purpose. It was also relevant to the students and inspired them to look at their surrounds and take action to preserve it. The learning task was authentic, as shown by the parents desire to take the ideas proposed by the students to the Parents and Friends committee to fund the implementation of a new waste management system for the school. Upon reflection there is few things we would adjust if we conducted the same project again. That may not be possible in this school setting again, our students have solved all the problems and we may have an awesome waste management system very soon. J
Nathan
Australian Curriculum Links (Year 5)
Geography
Develop geographical questions to investigate and plan an inquiry (ACHGS033)
The influence of the environment on the human characteristics of a place (ACHGK028)
The influence people have on the human characteristics of places and the management of spaces within them (ACHGK029)
Collect and record relevant geographical data and information, using ethical protocols, from primary and secondary sources, for example, people, maps, plans, photographs, satellite images, statistical sources and reports (ACHGS034)
Evaluate sources for their usefulness and represent data in different forms, for example, maps, plans, graphs, tables, sketches and diagrams (ACHGS035)
Present findings and ideas in a range of communication forms, for example, written, oral, graphic, tabular, visual and maps; using geographical terminology and digital technologies as appropriate (ACHGS038)
Reflect on their learning to propose individual and collective action in response to a contemporary geographical challenge and describe the expected effects of their proposal on different groups of people (ACHGS039)
Science
Solids, liquids and gases have different observable properties and behave in different ways (ACSSU077)
Scientific understandings, discoveries and inventions are used to solve problems that directly affect peoples’ lives (ACSHE083)
Scientific knowledge is used to inform personal and community decisions (ACSHE217)
With guidance, pose questions to clarify practical problems or inform a scientific investigation, and predict what the findings of an investigation might be (ACSIS231)
Construct and use a range of representations, including tables and graphs, to represent and describe observations, patterns or relationships in data using digital technologies as appropriate (ACSIS090)
Compare data with predictions and use as evidence in developing explanations (ACSIS218)
Communicate ideas, explanations and processes in a variety of ways, including multi-modal texts (ACSIS093)
Geography
Develop geographical questions to investigate and plan an inquiry (ACHGS033)
The influence of the environment on the human characteristics of a place (ACHGK028)
The influence people have on the human characteristics of places and the management of spaces within them (ACHGK029)
Collect and record relevant geographical data and information, using ethical protocols, from primary and secondary sources, for example, people, maps, plans, photographs, satellite images, statistical sources and reports (ACHGS034)
Evaluate sources for their usefulness and represent data in different forms, for example, maps, plans, graphs, tables, sketches and diagrams (ACHGS035)
Present findings and ideas in a range of communication forms, for example, written, oral, graphic, tabular, visual and maps; using geographical terminology and digital technologies as appropriate (ACHGS038)
Reflect on their learning to propose individual and collective action in response to a contemporary geographical challenge and describe the expected effects of their proposal on different groups of people (ACHGS039)
Science
Solids, liquids and gases have different observable properties and behave in different ways (ACSSU077)
Scientific understandings, discoveries and inventions are used to solve problems that directly affect peoples’ lives (ACSHE083)
Scientific knowledge is used to inform personal and community decisions (ACSHE217)
With guidance, pose questions to clarify practical problems or inform a scientific investigation, and predict what the findings of an investigation might be (ACSIS231)
Construct and use a range of representations, including tables and graphs, to represent and describe observations, patterns or relationships in data using digital technologies as appropriate (ACSIS090)
Compare data with predictions and use as evidence in developing explanations (ACSIS218)
Communicate ideas, explanations and processes in a variety of ways, including multi-modal texts (ACSIS093)